His Ambassador Blog

Proverbs is a book known for its applicable wisdom. Written by Solomon, the son of David and the third king of Israel. The Lord told Solomon that He would give him anything that He asked for. Instead of asking for riches, power, or anything of these sorts, Solomon asked for wisdom and the Lord greatly blessed him with such. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs so for the next 31 days of May we’re going to take a look at the wisdom in each one. 

Chapter Two: The origin of wisdom and the preservation of wisdom.

The Origin of Wisdom

“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.”(v. 1-8)

Wisdom comes from the Lord. How could we expect to gain understanding or knowledge without asking for it from the One who created it all? Wisdom is not found in anything but the Lord. 

The Lord tells us that we should receive His wisdom and guard it like a treasure. It will not benefit us if we don’t do these things. We must make His words, our words. His thoughts, our thoughts. To receive wisdom we must deny the foolishness and pride of our hearts, turning to Him to fill us with knowledge and understanding. 

The Lord also says that we must incline our hearts to understand. It is important that our hearts are engaged. There is a difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. Knowledge is knowing things, such as facts, truths, and concepts. But wisdom is knowing how to apply truth and goodness to our everyday lives. The best way to learn how to do this is from God. 

One important thing to remember is that wisdom is not gained on accident. We must receive, which means to accept the wisdom the Lord is offering. We must incline our ears and hearts, which means being open to correct and growth that wisdom brings. We must seek after wisdom, as if it is silver. The search doesn’t stop when we find it. It is a continual seeking of how to better respond to the things in our lives and the lives of those around us. 

The Lord has wisdom for each of us, and if we ask He freely gives to us. But we must be continually asking for it and continually letting His wisdom change our hearts. 

The Preservation of Wisdom

“For wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, form men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways.

So you will walk in the way of the good and keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright will inhabit the land and those with integrity will remain in it, but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.”(v.10-15, 20-22)

One aspect that comes out of having wisdom is the protection it provides from the ways of evil. God will defend, guard, and preserve those who walk in the way of wisdom, which is the way of the Lord. We can stay on this path of wisdom by being dedicated to wisdom and the learning of God’s word. The more we begin learning wisdom and the more we dive into the beauty of God’s word the greater the hunger we have for knowledge will become. Those who do not seek wisdom will find evil, darkness, and despair. But those who find wisdom find life, righteousness, and a blessed soul. With wisdom comes decisions that honor the Lord, which ultimately leads us to a healthier, happier life filled with holiness and goodness. The way of wisdom will always be the better option. Ecclesiastes 7:12 says, “For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.” If you want to know how to live a long and fulfilling life, seek the wisdom of the Lord. Protect and cultivate the wisdom He gives you with great carefulness.